Public sector workers are being told they have to be realistic about how much money’s available.
The Government's started talks with unions about reversing some of the cuts brought in during the recession.
Liam Doran from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says the government must pay up:
"Public servants have given alot, they've contributed alot. I think the Government now owes them and we'll see how much they're prepared to pay back over the next coming days".
Meanwhile, the Public Expenditure Minister says he legally cannot make any cuts to the pensions of former politicians.
It's been revealed Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen are being paid more than €120,000 a year each for their work as TDs and Taoisigh.
Brendan Howlin says the public needs to accept that people with high-responsibility jobs need to be paid accordingly:
"If we are going to have really quality people working in the public sphere, I think we need to acknowledge that we're going to have to pay a reasonable rate for those jobs".
